Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Gambino captain Bartolomeo Vernace is led out of 105th Precinct for
transport to central booking in this News file. He is currently on trial
for racketeering and murder.

Mafia princess Linda Gotti has been dumped for the second time as a
star witness in the racketeering and murder trial of a reputed Gambino
capo, the Daily News has learned.
Gotti was sent packing Tuesday from Brooklyn Federal Court by lawyers
representing defendant Bartolomeo Vernace, who is on trial for
racketeering and murder.
Linda, who apparently harbors some animosity toward the Gotti clan and
had hoped that by testifying she could put that part of her life behind
her, appeared overly interested in talking to the court, said a source
familiar with her thinking.
Three weeks ago, federal prosecutors also had Gotti on standby in the
courthouse, but decided against putting her on the stand after a
bartender who witnessed the double murder testified and appeared to hit a
home run for the government, sources said.

The late reputed mob boss John Gotti sits in New York state Supreme
Court Jan. 20, 1990 listening to opening arguments in his trial. His
niece, Linda Gotti, has been pulled from testifying against one of
Gotti's former captains, Bartolomeo Vernace.

More than three decades ago, Linda had also witnessed the fatal
shooting of her boyfriend John D’Agnese, who was gunned down with
co-owner Richard Godkin over a spilled drink in the Shamrock Bar.
But she later recanted her identifications of the killers.
Linda is the niece of the late Gambino crime boss John Gotti and the
daughter of John’s brother, former boss Peter Gotti, who is serving a
lengthy prison sentence.
Recently she told the feds that shortly after the murders, John Gotti’s
wife, Victoria, had advised her that she did not have to testify if she
did not want to, sources said.
She also claimed to have no knowledge of her father’s ties to the Mafia
until the late 1980s, which seemed incredible, the source added.